with poll: Ann Arbor City Council to decide on porch couch ban in two weeks, many students strongly opposed

U-M juniors Shelby Roback and Sarah Parsons, who live in a rental home on South State Street, say they aren't convinced of the need for a ban on having upholstered furniture outdoors.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The Ann Arbor City Council delayed its decision on the so-called "couch ban" Tuesday night, citing the need to allow more input from the U-M student community.

Council Member Christopher Taylor, D-3rd Ward, who is sponsoring the ban, asked his council colleagues to postpone the vote until the Sept. 20 council meeting. A public hearing on the proposal will continue that night.

"It is in everybody's interest for students to have a fulsome understanding of the purpose and the effect of the ordinance, and to hopefully achieve their buy-in," Taylor said.

The delay comes after the Michigan Student Assembly, which is formally opposing the couch ban, criticized the City Council this week. MSA leaders said they were disappointed the council considered the ordinance over the summer and didn't attempt to seek student input.

"Students are the majority of the affected population by this," John Oltean, chairman of the MSA's external relations committee, told council members Tuesday night.

Oltean said if regulating furniture use is a matter of fire safety, there are other concerns for the city to address, including barbecue grills and fire pits, and the fact that much of the "ancient" off-campus student housing stock doesn't meet current building codes.

"We just wanted to make sure that the council was fully addressing this issue of fire safety, rather than just kind of taking a stab at just one point," Oltean said.

There are strong feelings in the student community on the couch ban, an idea that has been batted around for years but has lacked political support from council. 

Taylor resurrected the proposal after a house fire near campus in April killed Renden LeMasters, a 22-year-old Eastern Michigan University student. Authorities believe a couch on the front porch helped spread the fire inside the South State Street rental home where LeMasters was staying.

U-M juniors Shelby Roback and Sarah Parsons, both from Rochester, now live in the house next door to the one gutted in the April blaze. Sitting on the upholstered furniture on their front porch early Tuesday evening, the two students said they aren't convinced of the need for the proposed ban.

"It's really nice to be able to sit outside on a summer night or a nice night like this with your friends and just enjoy the night," Parsons said. "The fire next door, I'm under the impression it was started by somebody actually trying to light the porch on fire. There might have been a couch involved, but I'm not sure that the couch was the source of the fire."

"They shouldn't take away part of our life because of that," Roback added. "It's like the culture of Ann Arbor — couches on porches."

City housing inspector Rita Fulton makes a case for a couch ban to the Ann Arbor City Council Tuesday night.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

While students fear approval of the ban could bring an end to a time-honored tradition, city officials say it wouldn't prevent all types of furniture from being used on porches — it would apply only to those that are upholstered and not meant for outdoor use.

"This ordinance is not an attempt to stop occupants from using the exteriors of property, especially the porches. There is inexpensive furniture made for exteriors," said city housing inspector Rita Fulton, who gave a detailed presentation to council Tuesday night.

The language of the proposed ordinance reads, "No responsible person shall place, or permit to remain, upholstered furniture which is not intended or designed for outdoor use on exterior balconies, porches, decks, landings, or other areas exposed to the weather."

Violations of the ordinance would result in a fine up to $1,000 and an order to remove the furniture. The draft resolution also states if a violation remains uncorrected, the city may remove the furniture from the property with the cost for removal charged to the violator.

The proposed ordinance has been revised to include specific exemptions for furniture placed outside during a move or as part of a trash or recycling program. Furniture also would be allowed outside temporarily during yard sales between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Several residents spoke for and against the ban at Tuesday's meeting. 

An emotional Bob LeMasters, the father of Renden LeLasters, offered his support for the ban.

"They say losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare. I'm telling you, it's worse than that," he said. "I'm not asking for students to not enjoy the outdoors — just use appropriate furniture and not have another family go through what we've been through for the last five months."

City records obtained by AnnArbor.com through a Freedom of Information Act request show city staff has been working on bringing back the couch ban ordinance since last year. Fulton has done much of the research, which she presented at Tuesday's meeting.

Under the proposed ordinance, upholstered furniture would be considered a public nuisance. Fulton said there are concerns about fire safety, as well as aesthetics and health.

"I have to agree that some of them don't look good," Fulton said of porch couches. "Snow gets on them, the rain gets on them — they become insanitary."

Fulton said some have questioned why upholstered furniture is so much more of a risk outside than it is inside. She said it's because of the unlimited supply of oxygen and breezes that can fan flames, and a lack of devices and people outside to detect the fires when they start.

Fulton compared the amount of heat energy released in a couch fire to that of a small burning wastebasket or a pool of gasoline that is set on fire.

"As you can see, a sofa releases 173 to 780 times more heat energy than the wastebasket, and 7.8 times more than the gasoline," she told council members during her presentation.

Fulton said many of the off-campus rental houses in Ann Arbor were built using a now-outdated, balloon-frame style of construction that doesn't meet current building code standards. As a result, she said, a large number of houses have no fire-blocking between levels, allowing flames to rapidly spread upward and engulf a house in very little time.

Bob LeMasters, whose son died in a fire in April, speaks in support of the couch ban Tuesday night.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Of all the documented house fires that started indoors in Ann Arbor since 2000, Fulton said, there have been only three where the origin was upholstered furniture. From 2000 to 2003, there were 63 fires that started with upholstered furniture outdoors, Fulton said.

The numbers of fires that started with upholstered furniture outdoors have steadily declined ever since. There were 19 each in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, there were nine. In 2007, there were two. In 2008, there were five. In 2009, there were six. And in 2010, there have been four.

Fulton attributed the decline to landlords becoming more proactive and prohibiting tenants from having upholstered furniture on porches. Some who oppose the ban say that's where the issue should be addressed — not through legislation by the City Council.

Fulton said five major house fires have occurred in Ann Arbor since 2004 that involved porch couches, including the latest incident where Renden LeMasters was killed. She said Ann Arbor isn't unique in trying to pass a couch ban. In fact, several college towns in Michigan and across the United States already have such bans in place.

"When are you going to have the courage to pass this?" Ann Arbor resident Chris Crockett asked council members during Tuesday night's meeting. "It should not have come to the point of seeing a student die to get you to take this seriously."

Ann Arbor resident Mark Supanich offered a different take.

"In the presentation, I saw no real evidence that it was indeed a public nuisance," Supanich told council members. "I saw numbers for fires out of context. There was no context given to numbers. How many fires are started in kitchens? Is that a public nuisance? How many are started in people's garages with a pile of rags near an ashtray?

"I understand it's an emotional issue and I want to respect that, but I also believe that the City Council has certain powers and they should not exceed those. And I don't feel that it's been demonstrated that these couches represent a public nuisance any more than do, say, a deep-fryer for a Thanksgiving turkey or cars on the road."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.